Till Death Do Us Part -- Animated Short Film -- Press Kit

OVERVIEW

‘Till Death Do Us Part (TDDUP) is a 12-minute and 18-second CG animated short film that was completed in June of 2007. It was a pet project of creator/director Rick May that lasted for more than 2 years of part-time and sometimes full-time work.

SYNOPSIS

Harold’s desire for living ended when his wife of 60 years passed. All that he is left with is a dusty old house and fading memories. Can a knock at the door from an unwelcome visitor turn things around in time?

DIRECTOR STATEMENT

For more than 18 years I have been working in the animation industry. In that time, I've labored on other people's projects while constantly fantasizing about making my own film. Since an animated feature is much too ambitious for one person to handle, I set out to create a more manageable short film. Although it would be my second, this time I wanted to push myself in a new direction. With a much more serious tone, I wanted to create a film that would tug at the viewer's emotions.

Till Death Do Us Part is the culmination of more than two and a half years of work in my spare time. It was the most exhausting, but fulfilling project I have ever worked on.

DIRECTOR BIO

Rick May has been working in the animation industry for more than 18 years.The vast majority of that time has been spent in both the Los Angeles and San Francisco areas working in a variety of roles including technical director, character animator, animation supervisor and director.

Born and raised in St. Louis, May left for Los Angeles in the early 90's to work on higher profile projects. Throughout those years, he had contributed to more than 40 commercials, several feature films, and a couple of special venue shorts for more than a dozen studios.In 1998, he moved to San Francisco to act as the Animation Supervisor on a CG film that never got off the ground. Instead of moving back to LA, May stayed in Northern California and formed “Toonstruck” - a small studio of his own. This company took on outsource work from other facilities as an animation studio to other animation studios.

Rick May continues to live in the San Francisco area with his wife Tara.

PRODUCTION NOTES / ANECDOTES

I set out to create a short that would yank at the viewer’s emotions. Since my previous film and most of the professional animation projects I’ve been involved with have skewed towards comedy, I knew it was important to push myself in a new direction.

Countless evenings were spent trying to come up with a story that was worth telling. A story that would fill the emotional demands I had placed on it. Nothing seemed to be working until one Tuesday night's dream.

It was so vivid, almost as if I were watching the finished piece. The next morning I frantically wrote down everything before it was forgotten. Within three days I had broken down the shots and had begun development.

More than two years later, the film is remarkably similar to that dream.

CREDITS

Directed/Created and Realized by Rick May, Music by Yiannis Kranidiotis, Photo Artwork by Sarah and Catherine Satrun, Harold character designs by Seth Hippen, Harold CG model by Ben Kilgore, Additional Artwork Assistance from Abel Salazar and Dylan Forman, Rendering Assistance from Render Rocket

FESTIVAL AVAILABILITY

Rendered at a 2.35 aspect ratio and High Definition resolution, the film is currently available to festivals on HDCAM, Digital Betacam, miniDV, and DVD formats. Compressed and Uncompressed digital formats are also available.

CONTACT INFORMATION

Rick May

(510) 903-1107

Short Film Website: http://www.toonstruck.com/shortfilm

Director's Blog and Production Log: http://www.rickmay.com/

MySpace Page: http://www.myspace.com/till_death_themovie